In Search of Jaguars in Costa Rica

Written by Bessie about Costa Rica. Feelin' normal

Kyle and I set out to another national park in Costa Rica, this time, in the upper northwest corner of the country, Santa Rosa National Park. I went in search of Jaguars. (Be sure to say Jaguars with glowing admiration and excitement.) The park is said to have a high population of jaguars, and well, if they live there, why couldn't I see one?

Our extremely helpful hotel owner told us all about going to the park and his run-in with a jaguar about 10 years ago. "You'll smell it first," he explained. "They smell so bad - like their own excrement." Now that's the practical information I need, and nothing my ZooBooks magazines from when I was a kid told me about finding jaguars.

Kyle of course being the blunt voice of reason told me, "we're not going to see any jaguars."

I, ever the optimist, explained again, "but if they live here, why can't we see them?"

Santa Rosa National Park has over 250 birds species, 50+ bats species, 4,000 different kinds of moths & butterflies, 3 kinds of sea turtles and loads of mammals, like monkeys, deer, and coatis. We should have no problems seeing creatures, right?

Crazy spikey tree & tree poses.

Walking along, we were on edge to see jaguars. 5 hours of hiking conversation can be summarized by this:

1. "What's that low grumbling sound?" I ask.
Kyle and I stop, almost scared to look around and listen. 2 minutes later an airplane flies overhead. Sigh.

2. "Oh my gosh, what's that dark thing behind those trees?" I'm pointing to a dark mound hidden a bit by branches and tree trunks.
"Nope." On closer inspection it's a huge rock. Boo.

3. "Oh man. What's that terrible smell - Wait and that tinkling sound?" I ask. "Kyle? Is that you?" No jaguar pee.

So you've probably figured out by now that we didn't see, hear, or smell any jaguars, because this post would have been bursting with the exciting tale. Sadly, some of the most exciting things we saw were the rear-ends of creatures running back into the woods. We learned the hard way, that without a car at this park, you're stuck walking an access road the first 4+ miles to get to any trails. I suddenly really missed our $18/day crappy rental car, Sunshine, from El Salvador. At least we did spot a number of interesting plants and crawly creatures.

I should clarify with #3 that I didn't really mistake Kyle peeing for a jaguar, though his one-line sentence to summarize the park is a priceless Kyle one-liner:

"I've seen more exciting stuff come out of my butt."

Fabulous.

« Seeing nature in Costa Rica is freakin' work!

Beachtown Bliss: Montezuma, Costa Rica »

August 16, 2008 DADDIO: Jaguars make their dens in caves, canyons and abandoned buildings. Be thankful that they were all sleeping during your walk! Jaguars are the top predators in their habitat with keen eyes adapted for night hunting. In fact, they have the best 3-D vision of all of the big cats! The largest Jaguars are almost 6 feet long with another 30" tail and can weigh up to 300 pounds. They are the largest cats in the Western Hemisphere. They are fearless nocturnal hunters who stalk and ambush their prey rather than chasing it down like lions and cheetas. They have no problem eating cattle and deer (and humans...). They are fast runners, but don't need to be because they are so good at the ambush that their prey never knows what hit them. Their large jaws and powerful jaw muscles allow them to easily pierce a human skull removing the top of the head to eat the brain. Later they tear open the torso with powerful claws and eat all the warm organs, saving the muscles for last. They have no problem chewing and digesting bones and even snack upon turtles and tortoises including the shells. Had you been in the woods at nightfall when they were awake and hungry without a weapon to protect yourselves, what was left of you would be a photo opp. for the next day's gruesome newspaper headline or a memorial video on some else's website if they could even find you! Jaguars share their prey with other den pals and family members so there is very little waste. Driving safari areas are really dangerous without a car or Jeep... Just a few useful facts for your self defense memory! Have a nice day vagabonds... I'm happy you are alive...

August 18, 2008 mumsie: Gosh, I'm disappointed for you, too! The Jaguars, I mean. (Actually, it took me a while to realize that you didn't mean the heavy metal ones that role on four wheels!! LOL)

August 19, 2008 Kyle: Those 4 wheeled ones would be WAY easier to find. I'm going "hunting" for those.

August 19, 2008 Bessie: sounds like Kyle's gonna hunt me a jaguar while I'm away. I'll take a red one with white leather interior. Make sure the trunk is big enough for our backpacks.

August 19, 2008 Aubrey: Hi, my husband and I are planning take a year long trip around Latin America in 2 years. What you two are doing is actually very similar to what we have been planning. I am very curious to find out if you mapped everything out in advance i.e. where to volunteer and how much everything will cost. I volunteered in Costa Rica for six months and my husband is Uruguayan, so I have no doubt that we will get around fine--it just seems that it will be hard to find places to volunteer (especially ones that don't charge) in each location that we decide to stay at least a few days or weeks. Any comments about your experience would be much appreciated. Pura Vida! : )

August 19, 2008 Bessie: Awesome that you found us! When we volunteered in Honduras and El Salvador we did arrange those in advance because they were personal connections I had. From what I can tell, it is challenging to find free volunteer options, especially in more touristed areas. Coming from a volunteer management background, I don't like paying to volunteer, but I will if I know that the money is being used well and not just landing in the hands of a middle man. We'll post about other volunteer options we find, and Kyle, can you post that link we have that lists non-profits through Latin America?

August 20, 2008 Kyle: I will not post anything!

Ok, fine. Here is the URL for south american opportunities: http://www.volunteersouthamerica.net/

I don't think there is a similar one for central america.

August 23, 2008 Todd and Liam: Liam says " I want to watch scary rain forrest again daddy" I think the scary part was Bessie's weird noises while looking at the bats!!

August 24, 2008 Linda: Centipedes, caterpillars, an occasion "rabid?" bat......actually glad that is all the wild life you encountered. Jaguars, being cats, probably don't like to get wet.....be grateful for rain! Meow!